Friday, November 27, 2009

After all, you didn't kill me as a year, I should be grateful! But no, I was a slob and didn't bother listening to every release that you, a fine fine example of a year, yielded.

Well here I am to try and correct my errors.
As is inevitable as the sun exploding in the West, the year following any year (which is most of them) I am bound to discover gems long after that year's best of list has been blogged over. This fills me with shame and time-traveler envy.

I offer this post up to right the wrongs of the past, and to avenge the tardiness of (Caitlyn -1year). She was a bitch.

So without further ado...

15 GREAT ALBUMS FROM 2008 THAT I DIDN'T HEAR UNTIL 2009.

I am going to sort the list here, as well as the playlist, in order of playability.
Bouncier fun stuff at the front.
Folk and pop in the middle.
Experimental weirdness at the end.
130 minutes of fierce 2008 nostalgia!

Buraka Som Sistema - Black Diamond: Dance albums that work as a whole are SO RARE. Here we get slamming beats, and an appropriate mix of guests like Virus Syndicate and M.I.A. to stir the pot. One of the best party albums of 2008, and so many hot singles to boot.

Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours: This is one of those albums I avoided just because it got so much press, so what's the point? As it turns out the retro 80s song delivery really gels together to create a contemporary synthpop gem.

Vancougar - Canadian Tuxedo: Some times a girl needs some tweepunk radness. Like Team Dresch meets Dressy Bessy, in all the right ways.

The Mae Shi - Hlllyh: Total high-energy quirky rock. Cacophonous and delirious and oh so good.

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight: Holy shit this album is awesome. Like a sweet sweet lovechild of Damien Rice and Twilight Sad. *drool*

Liz Durrett - Outside Our Gates: This album is full of so many spine-shivering folk numbers of sheer beauty. I can't recommend a folk album as much as this one.

Kira Kira - Our Map to the Monster Olympics: They channel the delicate nursery-quality of Mum, but unafraid to let their instrumentals soar. A great wind-down album.

Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull: Stoner sludge gone adult contemporary? It doesn’t really matter, because these long guitar-fronted compositions are so soothing. For when you want Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore, but your mom is over.

Hauschka - Ferndorf: Contemporary classical music that is seemingly composed by a late 90s IDM musician? Sounds good? Sounds great!

Jacaszek - Treny: OK, how about some IDM like it was programmed by a contemporary composedr? Sound good? Sounds great!

Paola Prestini - Body Maps: Simply one of the most engrossing contemporary classical albums I've heard in years. You have to hear it in its entirety for the full glorious effect. It's albums like this that remind me how amazing of a label Tzadik is.

Peter Rehberg - Work For GV 2004-2008: You can almost immediately feel the cinematic quality of these accompaniment pieces. Removed from their visuals, they reveal themselves to be terrifying and exacting pieces of sound art horror.